Liston vs Louis, prime for prime

True 'nuff, not the combination there of.

He fought bigger opponents, none with a better jab, a few stronger, many more skilled and a few who hit as hard, but none who had the full package as Liston did.

Louis was a mean dude and I don't see him intimidated by Liston. I really see if unfolding like the Clay fight with more damage being done to Liston. That said, Liston proved he could change a fight in a heartbeat, at least against less than great opponents. Perhaps he could do the same against Louis.

 

how so, lets be honest Louis was never the type to get on his toes and outslick another fighter. His style was controlled agression, with a good jab, the ability to cut of the ring, he had good footwork but his footspeed was a lil slow, his hand speed and accuracy made up for this. Louis was a great fighter but more often than not he fought primarily the same way every fight.

 

many more skilled? liston was one of the better technicians in ring history, he was extremley scientific. The only one who arguebably came close to hitting as hard as liston was marciano, and the rock knocked louis out cold.


A few stronger? like who? abe simon was nowhere near as strong as liston. The only fighter that arguebably matched liston in strength, marciano, knocked louis out cold. Liston was much stronger than all of listons opponents including primo carnera who had virtually no functional strength.

 

Liston was not extremely scientific, just extremely effective. I will take the latter over the former any day of the week. He had holes in his defense, obvious tendencies that he did not bother to hide and often rushed too wildly for the kill. Still, it worked against most of the lot he fought.

Stronger? We can not know for sure but I suspect Max Baer, Buddy Baer, Simon, for sure Carnera (that guy was ridiculously strong per anecdotes of too many to mention) and Nova. Marciano had great power but I somewhat disqualify his win over Louis in this discussion because Louis was at the very end of the road, though still a quite effective heavyweight.

Liston had a nice all-around set of skills and abilities. Still, his poison- as almost any heavyweight in history- would be a machine like Louis. Quick, efficient, artistic. I really believe mincemeat would be the result, though one could never discount Liston.

 

While Liston is obviously a formidable opponent, I like Louis because of his quicker hands and combinations. I just think Liston will be vulnerable to Louis' right over the jab. No one had a rattlesnake right like Louis.
As for chins, I would see the two as about equal. I would also point out that Louis is a proven 15 round fighter, while Liston is not. It is certainly a leap of faith to assume that Liston wins this one late.

 

Louis Was A(top Notch) Counter Puncher Who Would Punish Liston From A Distance And When He Hurt Liston,there Would Be No Saving The Slower Liston From One Of The Best Finishers In The Biz-louis Ko By Round 7

 

Liston had the chin to last the distance but not the mentality. It's not all too ridiculous a thing to envision Sonny withdraw from battle for fear of further punishment. Joe Louis had the tools to land first and land often given his superior combination punching; and if this is a 15 round fight, it could make for a very fierce and turbulent affair for one Sonny Liston.

Louis by KO/TKO anywhere between 8-15.

 

What I meant was that contary to what you said Louis did not rely solely on moving in on a opponent, he had the ability and handspeed to wait till his opponent mounted an offensive move, would then beat them to the punch and chew 'em up as they moved in. He certainly wasn't as one dimensional strategically as some seem to think.